Clear the Way for local pollution reductions in California’s climate plan

August 4, 2016

By Martha Dina Arguello and Byron Gudiel

California is at a crossroads with our landmark climate law. The California Air Resources Board (ARB) is considering options on how to reach its 2030 climate targets at a time when the oil industry is determined to gut any serious attempt to end our reliance on fossil fuels. Meanwhile, greenhouse gas emissions continue to dirty our air, worsen climate change, and choke our lungs. As such, local communities are raising their voices to demand real reductions in air pollution to clean up our air and bring economic benefits to those who need them most.

Reducing pollution in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color is absolutely critical if our state’s climate change law, AB 32, is to reach its full potential. Low-income families suffer some of the most concentrated levels of pollution in their neighborhoods. According to the American Lung Association’s 2016 “State of the Air” Report, Los Angeles and Bakersfield top the list of worst air pollution in the nation.

The AB 32 scoping plan that the Air Resources Board is drafting is the vehicle through which our state’s climate change law will meet the realities of our neighborhoods. Consider it the blueprint for how we will fulfill the mandate of the law 10 years beyond its initial 2020 targets. The scoping plan is only updated every five years, so it’s critical we get it right.

The plan should be informed by grassroots input and it should prioritize bold local and regional targets for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. ARB should also enhance transparency in implementation and eliminate loopholes for large polluters. Setting direct emission reduction goals for major polluting facilities should be a key consideration.

Additional strategies in the scoping plan to directly benefit vulnerable communities should include adopting aggressive targets to electrify our transportation sector and accelerate clean energy access for low-income communities. ARB should also take a hard look at ways to reduce pollution in communities located near polluting facilities—including carbon pricing.

We also need to seize on the opportunity to expand the growth our state is seeing on clean energy jobs. A recent UC Berkeley Labor Center report assessed renewable energy investments from 2002 to 2015, revealing that California’s renewable energy program is creating quality, well-paying jobs in economically distressed parts of California, including heavily Latino communities. Between 2002 and 2015, over 32,000 blue-collar construction jobs were supported in the renewable energy industry.

That’s a testament to how much we can accomplish if we focus on investing where our communities need it the most. With this scoping process, ARB can continue to move our economy forward to transition away from fossil fuels and bring prosperity and green-collar jobs to all Californians, especially low-income communities of color.

We need to examine and be willing to adopt innovative strategies that catapult our state, especially impacted communities, into a modern and more just clean economy, and provide us with the resources needed to cope with the impacts of climate change.

As Californians, we are at a critical juncture with our climate change and clean air policies. The California Air Resource Board can keep our state on the right path by adopting a blueprint for addressing climate change that includes economic benefits, strong measures to reduce polluting emissions in our communities, and by holding polluters accountable to clean up the air our families breathe.

Martha Dina Arguello is the Executive Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles and Byron Gudiel is the Executive Director of Communities for A Better Environment.

On Thursday, August 11th, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is coming to one of the poorest rural cities in the state to learn about the challenges of transportation and to create awareness on the opportunities of Plug-In Electric Vehicles (PEVs). This is unheard of for the community which is located on the furthest west side of the region approximately a 6 hours round trip to Fresno on the rural bus. A trip that would not take much longer than an hour and a half round trip in a personal vehicle. Huron is also the community where Valley LEAP’s green-house gas reducing guru and founding executive director, Rey Leon, has been working to enhance the local indigenous rural-ride sharing system to one that is more affordable, efficient and less polluting (ghg’s & criteria pollutants) using PEVs.

All communities from throughout the Valley are invited to share their concerns, experiences and recommendations to the CARB. Also, it will be a great time to learn more about the Valley LEAP model being developed known as GREEN Raiteros(raiteros, those who give rides, from the Spanglish term raite for ride) to supplement the existing regional public transportation system. The focus audience of the convening are Spanish speaking low-income farmworkers but all are welcome!

Join us for an important exchange on greening up public and private transportation options for a healthy populace, less polluted planet and cooler climate!

For more information: Rey Leon, (559) 269-9563 or rleon@valleyleap.org